by JOHN MAXWELL

For the Sequim Gazette

Editor’s note: This is the eighth in a monthly series about the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge, past and present. — MD

One of the pitfalls of writing history is the temptation to turn to fiction when the facts are thin, as is the case with the story of the U.S. Navy on Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge. I will resist the temptation and just give the few facts I have found, plus some questions.

Since Dungeness Spit presented a major hazard for sailing vessels, you can be sure it came to the attention of the U.S. Navy early on. In 1853, the U.S. Coast Survey published a chart of “New Dungeness Harbor.” The survey party was under the command of Lt. Comdg. J. Alden, U.S.N.

A narrative report was published by the superintendent of the U.S. Coast Survey after construction of the lighthouse:

“A southeast wind drawing out of the strait blows directly into this harbor, but the bottom will hold any vessel with good ground tackle. The only difficulty will be to get the anchors out of the mud after riding a couple of days to a gale.

“This point is so low that vessels bound in or out, before the erection of the light-house, were upon it before they were aware of their danger. Several had run ashore on the outside beach, and in 1855, while we were anchored close in, with the weather thick and hazy, a vessel from Admiralty Inlet had been set out of her course by the currents, and came driving in with studding-sails out, and only saw her mistake and danger when the black hull of our vessel attracted her attention.”

When President Woodrow Wilson signed the executive order establishing the wild bird reservation in 1915, he stipulated that it should not in any manner interfere with the use of the lands for military or lighthouse purposes.

It is obvious from looking at a navigational chart for the Strait of Juan de Fuca that Dungeness Spit might have had strategic importance in those early days. Still, the light station and wild birds seem to have ruled the roost until 1924. On Nov. 20 of that year President Calvin Coolidge issued an executive order placing certain tracts of the spit under Navy control “for Naval Radio Compass Stations, and when no longer needed by said Department the lands are to be returned to the control of the Interior Department … “

Then on March 21, 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt set aside Dungeness Spit “for naval aviation purposes.” He followed this on Aug. 16, 1940, with an order placing Dungeness Spit under complete control of the U.S. Navy. This reserved a 147-acre tract on Dungeness Spit for use by the Navy until 1955, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed an executive order returning the spit to the Department of the Interior.

What happened between 1939 and 1955? The available records are spotty to non-existent. All I have found are a few anecdotal comments collected by Harriet Fish in her pamphlet about the light station and the thorough history of the light station by James C. Isom. While Isom seems to have dug out a bit more information about the naval period, he did not footnote his sources. I have been told by one Navy veteran that records for many World War II installations in the Puget Sound area were destroyed after the war.

What was it like to serve on the spit in that time? My guess is it was really boring. It is so tempting to resort to fiction!

You still can find some flooring and foundations on Graveyard Spit that may or may not date back to the Navy period. Since Graveyard Spit is now closed to the public to protect sensitive habitat, you cannot go out there to view them. David Falzetti on the refuge staff graciously provided the photo included here.

The military constructed a 35-foot high watch tower just northeast of the lighthouse.

James Isom’s book shows the tower on a map of the light station in 1944. It also is visible in an aerial photo he includes from 1950. Why not use the lighthouse tower? The light would destroy the watchers’ night vision.

He also notes, “In 1942, a Direction Finding (D/F) Calibration Station, complete with antenna system, was built using typical wartime construction and was located just north of the (keeper’s) dwelling.” He doesn’t mention any buildings on Graveyard Spit.

Beyond that, all I have are questions. What about security? I have been told that people still clammed, crabbed and fished on the spit during this period, without being warned off. The local newspapers are silent but that may be due to wartime censorship.

Dungeness Spit was far from the action of World War II and the Cold War. Maybe no one thought the Navy’s time there important enough to keep track.

Is there anyone in the community who still remembers that wartime era on the spit? Did any local person serve on the spit? I would love to sit down and listen to anyone who remembers. Frankly, such eyewitness knowledge may be all we will ever have and none of us is getting any younger.

John Maxwell is a historian for the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge.

Dungeness Refuge hosts bird walk

The Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge will host a summer bird walk in the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge at 9 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 15. The walk will be led by a naturalist from the Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society.

Meet at the Refuge Information Kiosk/Entrance Station, the north end of Voice of America Road. The event is free and open to the public. No RSVP required. Wear sturdy shoes and bring binoculars or spotting scopes.

Be prepared for 2-3 hours of walking.

Additional events celebrating the refuge’s first 100 years will be held throughout 2015.

For more information, call the refuge office at 457-8451 or send an e-mail to david_falzetti@fws.gov.